At June 30, 2010 Eyre Peninsula had a population of 58,700 people. The region is home to 3.6% of South Australia's population. 2,500 people, 4.4% of the region's population, is estimated to be Indigenous.[1]

The major industry is farming - cereal crops, sheep, and cattle in the drier north and more water-intensive activities such as dairy farming and a growing wine industry in the south. Many coastal towns have commercial fishing fleets, the largest being located at Port Lincoln. The town has previously harbored a large tuna-fishing fleet, which is gradually transforming its practice to fish farming with the growth of sea cage aquaculture. Oyster farming was established in the 1980s and occurs in several sheltered bays including Franklin Harbour (near Cowell in Spencer Gulf) and Smoky Bay off the west coast.

Eyre Peninsula is being marketed as the 'seafood frontier' in an attempt to showcase the region's fisheries and aquaculture produce. Key products are the Southern bluefin tuna and Yellowtail kingfish, which are farmed in Port Lincoln and Arno Bay, and Pacific oysters, which are grown in Franklin Harbour and several sheltered bays of the peninsula's west coast. Other seafood offerings include abalone, mussels, prawns and blue-swimmer crabs.

Many natural heritage attractions can be found in the region's three National Parks, in numerous conservation parks and along the peninsula's extensive coastline.

Ecotourism operators offer visitors opportunities to experience many of the region's iconic marine species either in or on the water. From Whyalla, visitors can snorkel or dive off Point Lowly to witness the mass breeding aggregation of Giant Australian Cuttlefish which occurs there from May through August each year.

Artifacts from the Peninsula's pioneer and, to a lesser extent, indigenous heritage can be seen at a network of National Trust museums, which include the Mount Laura Homestead Museum in Whyalla, the Tumby Bay National Trust Museum and the Koppio Smithy Museum. The Whyalla Maritime Museum has a nautical theme which commemorates the former Whyalla shipyards. Its displays include guided tours of the World War II corvette HMAS Whyalla, which sits in dry-dock and is visible from the Lincoln Highway.

Major population centres on Eyre Peninsula are connected by a network of highways. The Eyre Highway runs east-west across the peninsula, while the Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway follow the west and east coasts, meeting at Port Lincoln in the south. The Tod Highway bisects the peninsula, running south-north from Port Lincoln through the town of Lock to the Gawler Ranges.

The peninsula is served by the isolated narrow-gaugeEyre Peninsula Railway. This line is separated from the main system by desert country, and there has therefore never been any need for a connecting link.

Port Bonython Fuels, a future fuel distribution hub has been approved to be constructed at Port Bonython to aid the development of the mining industry. Once constructed and operational, fuel will be delivered to towns and mine sites by road tankers up to A-triple class.

Potable water is scarce on Eyre Peninsula. Presently, water is pumped several hundred kilometres from the River Murray to the town of Whyalla through the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline. Underground water resources are suffering from gradually increasing salinity. The only reliable surface flows are from the Tod River and its main tributary, Pillaworta Creek which are captured by the Tod Reservoir. The reservoir was built to augmented the groundwater supply of Port Lincoln and was constructed in the early 1920s. It was taken offline in the early 2000s due to concerns over rising salinity and contamination from agricultural chemicals. SA Water has investigated potential locations for seawater desalination plants to address future water security problems. As of January 2014, no plants are proposed to be built for domestic or agricultural supply, though one currently exists and two have been proposed to serve the mining industry exclusively. The existing plant is located at Whyalla and is operated by Arrium and plants are proposed for Point Lowly and Lipson Cove to serve BHP Billiton and Centrex Metals respectively.